Allison’s eyes went cold, and in one fluid motion, she produced a small blade from her sleeve, the light catching on its edge. But just as Colton’s hand began to descend, someone intervened.
A man in a perfectly tailored suit stepped forward, and with one swift, effortless movement, twisted Colton’s arm. Crack.
A scream, sharp and agonized, filled the air, the unmistakable sound of bones snapping echoing in the room. “My arm! My arm!” Colton gasped, drenched in sweat, his entire body trembling as though he had just been pulled from icy water. He stared at his arm, now twisted and bent in a grotesque angle, unable to comprehend the searing pain.
“You-” he spun around, furious, only to find himself staring into a pair of cold, deep-set eyes.
Behind the suited man stood Kellan, seated in his wheelchair.
Sherman, the man in the suit, released his hold on Colton’s arm and respectfully announced, “Mr. Lloyd, I’ve dealt with the garbage.”
“Colton!” Melany rushed over, panic flashing in her eyes as she tried to help him to his feet. He was sprawled across the ground like a puppet with its strings cut, his body a tangled mess. His wrist, nearly shattered, sent searing pain through his bones with the slightest movement. Cold sweat beaded on his forehead as he struggled to gather his thoughts and form words.
“You’ve all gone too far!” Melany’s voice cracked as she clenched her jaw, her eyes blazing with fury.
Who could have anticipated Kellan’s sudden appearance, let alone his man breaking Colton’s wrist in broad daylight? Her gaze flickered toward the security cameras outside the building, a fleeting hope rising in her chest. “This is assault! You’ve broken the law!”
Kellan responded with a light chuckle, clearly amused by her accusation. His mood was almost buoyant. “Really? By all means, file a lawsuit or call the police. Though you’ll find no witnesses. And wouldn’t you know it? The cameras are unfortunately broken.”
Melany’s face drained of color, her body freezing in place. Everyone knew that Kellan had connections in both high society and the darkest corners. Legalities, in his world, were mere formalities.
“Mr. Lloyd,” Melany stammered, her voice trembling, “what exactly did we do to offend you?” Her attempt at diplomacy was laced with fear, but Kellan didn’t even spare her a glance.
“Offend me? You didn’t. I’m just in a bad mood today,” he said casually, his tone dripping with indifference.
Allison couldn’t suppress a laugh at his blatant arrogance. Kellan, it seemed, truly didn’t care.
Without even turning his head, Kellan tossed a card toward Colton. “For your hospital bills.”
The card landed with a humiliating smack across Colton’s face before falling to the ground. The gesture was so insulting that even words would have failed to capture its full meaning. Colton opened his mouth, ready to shout curses, but the movement pulled at his broken wrist, and a sharp gasp of pain escaped him instead.
Watching Colton and Melany wallow in their misery, Allison felt a rare flicker of satisfaction. Quietly, she retracted the small blade she’d kept hidden, then turned her attention to Kellan.
“And what brings you here, Mr. Lloyd?”
Kellan raised a hand, casually swinging a handbag. “You forgot this when you left. I thought there might be something important inside, so I figured I’d return it.”
Allison blinked, momentarily surprised. She had been so preoccupied with observing the house’s decor for clues that she had completely forgotten her bag. Thankfully, nothing of significant value had been left in it.
However, Colton overheard their exchange, and the ease with which they conversed felt like a punch to his gut. The familiarity, the way they interacted-it was undeniable. These two were closer than he had ever imagined.
At that moment, the painful truth hit him like a freight train. They were together.
Fueled by rage, Colton ignored the sharp agony in his wrist and staggered forward, taking several unsteady steps. He was careful not to get too close to Kellan. Through gritted teeth, he spat, “So, it’s true! You two are living together!” The pain from his wrist made his knees weak, and although he hadn’t seen a doctor yet, he knew with certainty his wrist was broken.
“Allison, how long has it even been since our divorce? Were you already lining up your next man while we were still together?”
Colton’s fury was palpable as he glared at Kellan, who seemed completely unfazed by the accusation. Then, as though a lightbulb flickered on in his memory, Colton recalled how, during that infamous yacht trip, Allison had coldly snapped a thug’s arm without a second thought.
She had tossed money at the thug afterward, dismissing it as payment for his medical bills.
It hit him like a tidal wave-Kellan and Allison’s behavior was eerily alike. The same detached gaze, the same utter disregard for his anger. His outbursts, his fury, it was nothing more than the wind blowing past them, irrelevant and beneath their notice.
Even their generosity, paying for medical bills, was a gesture of disgust rather than concern. They simply wanted to clean their hands of the mess, as though his suffering was a stain they couldn’t be bothered with.
Melany, still clutching onto Colton, wore a face of pure outrage.
“That’s right! How can you treat us like this?” she hissed, her frustration bubbling to the surface.
“And Mr. Lloyd,” Melany continued, her voice sharpening, “when we were in Athton, I thought you were only helping Allison out of a desire for peace, that you just didn’t want to be bothered. But now, seeing how close you two are, this is clearly more than friendship, isn’t it? You always said you weren’t interested in-“
“Women, but here we are! Even if you’ve been with her, that doesn’t mean you can take it out on us!”
Melany shot Allison a glare, her expression brimming with self-righteous indignation. “Allison, even if you and Colton are no longer together, there was a time when you shared something meaningful. How can you be so heartless, taking pleasure in his misery like this? It makes you seem cruel! And really, you’ve moved on so quickly after the divorce? Looks like you didn’t just move on; you must’ve had this planned all along.”
Surprisingly, her words lacked the usual biting sarcasm. The reason was clear-she was extremely jealous now. Allison had lived in luxury for years-luxury that, in Melany’s eyes, should have been hers.
She had expected that after the divorce, Allison would crumble, maybe even end up in the gutter. Yet, despite everything, Melany and Colton hadn’t managed to gain the upper hand once. Instead, Melany had followed Colton through humiliation after humiliation-groveling for forgiveness, apologizing in front of crowds, even jumping into a river. It was one disaster after another.
“You’re just too frivolous, Allison,” Melany spat, her words laced with bitter envy. It enraged her that even the unpredictable Kellan had stepped in to defend Allison. Kellan’s eyes darkened, a dangerous glint flickering in them.
“If you’re that eager to meet your end, why not jump out of a window? It’ll be quicker than doing it here.” His deep voice held a magnetic quality, sending shivers through everyone present. “Miss Clarke is my niece’s pottery instructor,” he continued, his calm tone chilling. “Spread any more of these absurd rumors, and you might want to start counting how many limbs you have left to break.”
This wasn’t just about slander anymore. Kellan usually ignored baseless rumors, but this time, with Allison caught in the crossfire, it felt different. He didn’t tolerate people dragging her into such filth, and that alone was enough to warrant his warning.
Colton, who had never been humiliated like this in his life, felt his rage bubble over. “Allison? A pottery teacher?” he sneered. “Who knows if she’s teaching pottery or something else in bed? And you, Mr. Lloyd, stooping this low for a woman who’s already been through a divorce-what, are you that desperate? Back when she and I…”
Colton’s words trailed off, his eyes narrowing as something clicked. His gaze snapped toward Allison. “Oh, I see it now. When you went to the Lloyd Group for sponsorship, you were using your body as the bargaining chip, weren’t you?”
Smack! Allison had had enough. Her hand flew through the air, landing a stinging slap across Colton’s face with all the force of her pent-up fury. His cheek immediately swelled and flushed red.
“All those years, I fought tirelessly for your family’s revival. You, worthless alcoholic, tried every technique in the book and still failed. The only reason your father urged me to help was that he couldn’t bear watching you anymore.”
Her icy eyes bored into him. “If I hadn’t spent hours waiting at the Lloyd Group to secure that deal, you, Mr. Stevens, would be out on the street by now.”
Melany opened her mouth to say something, but Allison’s chilling gaze stopped her in her tracks, freezing her where she stood. It felt like being plunged into an ice cave. Allison’s stare wasn’t just cold – it was lethal, as though she could cut them both down with a single look. Allison’s words were as sharp as knives.
“Instead of being grateful that I preserved your wealth and status, you repay me by spreading rumors and slandering me. It’s laughable. You really have no conscience, do you? And considering how easily you accuse others of ‘bargaining with their bodies,’ I’m guessing you’ve done it yourself, Mr. Stevens. That’s why you assume others would do the same.”
Colton, still dizzy from the slap, felt his ears ringing. The cool breeze did little to calm his fury, though his face remained livid. For a brief moment, reality settled in, and it dawned on him how wrong he had been. He knew, beyond a doubt, that he had crossed a line.
After all, the events of so many years ago had been buried beneath the sands of time, and proving anything now was like trying to catch smoke with bare hands. Colton had no solid evidence, only his suspicions, and it was undeniable that Allison had once rescued the Stevens family from ruin. Back then, he had been as powerless as a leaf caught in a storm, and when the contract finally arrived, it felt like a lifeline tossed to a drowning man. Still, Colton stood firm, his voice cold and unyielding. “I won’t deny that you did a lot for the Stevens family, but let’s not forget, you chose to do that,” he said, though the ghosts of old rumors flitted through his mind.
Whispers from that time still lingered-rumors about how Allison had been brushed aside by the Lloyd Group. Kellan himself had kept her waiting, tied up in meetings all afternoon before finally granting her an audience. Only Kellan’s assistant had been privy to their discussion, leaving everyone else in the dark about what had truly transpired. The gossip was rampant, and people found it hard to believe that a mere bottle of perfume had sealed such a deal. Some claimed Allison had knelt for hours in Kellan’s office, while others speculated wildly about how she had managed to secure the contract.
Colton added, “I haven’t forgotten your generosity, which is why I made sure the divorce settlement reflected that.” Beside him, Melany let out an exaggerated sigh, her tone dripping with false sympathy. “Allison, you can’t keep bringing up what you did. No matter how much you sacrificed for the Stevens family, you can’t use that to barter for favors. That would bring shame to the family name, wouldn’t it?”
Her words were laced with venom, though she tried to maintain an innocent facade. “And back then, you were just a housewife. You weren’t even involved in any company dealings. I doubt you even knew how to read the business reports. So, what did you possibly do to impress Mr. Lloyd? Business isn’t like whipping up a fragrance. Are you seriously suggesting you landed that deal just because of your appearance?” Melany’s words were sharp, aimed directly at Allison, belittling her with every sentence. “Mistakes are mistakes, no matter the outcome. Just because things turned out in your favor doesn’t mean the way you went about it was right.”
Each word was a thinly veiled accusation, implying that Allison’s success all those years ago had come at a questionable cost, and Kellan had played a part in it. Allison’s eyes narrowed into icy slits, but before she could snap back, Kellan’s expression darkened, his brow arching in lethal amusement. “Miss Johnson, you’ve quite the talent for spinning tales. If you’re so attached to your tongue, you might want to watch what you say, or I could make sure it becomes food for the beasts.”
Melany whipped her head toward him, her body trembling under the weight of his chilling gaze. Kellan looked at her like a predator eyeing its prey, his cold stare enough to freeze the blood in her veins.
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.